Listos California, an organization from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, has been making calls related to emergency preparedness and emergency alert sign-ups to people throughout San Luis Obispo County.
“We did get calls from people just wanting to confirm that it wasn't a scam and that it was a real call from the state,” said Anita Konopa, Emergency Services Coordinator for the County of San Luis Obispo’s Office of Emergency Services.
Konopa says the calls by Listos California are legitimate.
She says the organization wants to connect residents with emergency preparedness resources in their community.
“Listos was asking people for their name and address and information to help them get registered into the alert system,” Konapo said. “And I think they just didn't realize that we live in a world where you don't want to provide necessarily that information out to someone you don't know who's giving you a call.”
Konapo says the organization has spoken to residents throughout the state and connected them to their local warning system.
“They are going county to county and using a phone bank to call individuals in the community to encourage them to get prepared for emergencies and to sign up for a local alerting, which would be AlertSLO and Reverse 911 in San Luis County,” said Konopa.
According to the organization, they have reached out to millions of Californians who otherwise wouldn’t have access to lifesaving emergency preparedness information.
They currently offer life-saving tips for different types of disasters.
Karen Myer from Avila Beach says she’s been receiving emergency alerts for the past couple of years.
“Three or four years ago, when we had the big flooding, the San Luis Bay off-ramp was totally closed. I couldn't get to my house for a couple of days, so since then, I've signed up for this county and Santa Barbara County,” Myer said. “But these types of notifications are really important to me, and I think they're important to all citizens just to be prepared.”
Jose Cruz says he’s not signed up for any emergency alerts.
“I just normally have all my notifications off, so I don't really go on my phone for any notifications like that,” Cruz said.
To sign up for emergency alerts in San Luis Obispo County, click here. To sign up for emergency alerts in Santa Barbara County, click here.
